For Our Patients

Directions
Links to Yahoo Maps and Google Maps can be found under the "Contact Us" button at the top of this page.
Vanishing Veins is conveniently located at 1 Barnard Lane in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Barnard Lane is a cul-de-sac/office complex that is located off Bloomfield Avenue approximately one mile from the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue (Route 189) with Cottage Grove Road (Route 218). If you are traveling north from this intersection Barnard Lane is on your left. On entering Barnard Lane as you go around the small circle our office building is immediately on your right. Park in the back and use either the back entrance or the outside elevator. We are on the second floor on your right.

There are a number of ways to get to Barnard Lane:
If traveling north on I-91: Take Exit 35B to Rte 218 Bloomfield. Take a left at the traffic light at the end of the exit ramp onto Cottage Grove Road (Route 218). Travel approximately four miles to Bloomfield Ave (Route 189), which is a prominent intersection with a traffic light and Ruby Tuesday's on the corner. Take a right. Barnard Lane is a little less than a mile on your left.

If traveling south on I-91: Take Exit 35B to Rte 218 Bloomfield. Take a right at the traffic light at the end of the exit onto Cottage Grove Road (Route 218). Travel approximately four miles to Bloomfield Ave (Route 189), which is a prominent intersection with a traffic light and Ruby Tuesday's on the corner. Take a right. Barnard Lane is a little less than a mile on your left.

If traveling west or east on I-84: Take I-91 North and follow the above directions listed under "If traveling north on I-91".
If traveling from the Manchester area: There are two ways to go.

1. Take I-384 to I-291. Take Exit 1 to Rte 218 Bloomfield. Take a left at the traffic light at the end of the exit onto Cottage Grove Road (route 218). Travel approximately four miles to Bloomfield Ave (Route 189), which is a prominent intersection with a traffic light and Ruby Tuesday's on the corner. Take a right. Barnard Lane is a little less than a mile on your left.

2. Take I-84 West to I-91 N. Take Exit 35B to Rte 218 Bloomfield. Take a left at the traffic light at the end of the exit onto Cottage Grove Road (Route 218). Travel approximately four miles to Bloomfield Ave (Route 189), which is a prominent intersection with a traffic light and Ruby Tuesday's on the corner. Take a right. Barnard Lane is a little less than a mile on your left.

If traveling from Hartford on Albany Ave/Main Street/Rte 44 West: At the intersection with Bloomfield Ave/Route 189 take a right at the traffic light. You will travel approximately 3.3 miles to Barnard Lane, which is on your left a little less than a mile after the Cottage Grove Road/Rte 218 intersection, a prominent intersection with a traffic light and Ruby Tuesday's on the corner.

If traveling from West Hartford, Avon or Simsbury on Albany Ave/Rte 44 East: At Bloomfield Ave/Route 189 take a left at the traffic light, a prominent intersection with a traffic light and Ruby Tuesday's on the corner. You will travel approximately 3.3 miles to Barnard Lane, which is on your left a little less than a mile after the Cottage Grove Road/Rte 218 intersection.

Prior to the Procedure
Please read instructions carefully two weeks before and the day before your procedure.

Wear loose, comfortable, warm clothing including socks. Layering is most comfortable and allows for temperature fluctuation. Bring an old pair of boxers or loose fitting shorts. They may get soiled from fluids used during the procedure.

Bring your compression stockings to the office.
Discontinue aspirin, Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin, etc.) or any type of blood thinners such as vitamin E, fish oil or certain herbal supplements for ten days prior to the procedure. If you have not discontinued these medications please contact our office.

For women only: Discontinue all forms of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), including any creams or vaginal inserts two weeks prior to the procedure. It is crucial you inform us if you are currently using any form of HRT (this includes oral contraceptives).

Take all routine medications. Contact our office for specific instructions regarding diuretic medication (water pills).
Do not fast prior to the procedure. Have a light meal at your regular time prior to your procedure (breakfast and/or lunch depending on the time of day your procedure is scheduled).

You will need a ride home after the procedure. Expect to be in the office approximately one hour that day.

Prior to the procedure you will receive a phone call at which time we will ask for your phone numbers and the amount of time that it takes to reach our offices from your home. You will be given an approximate time slot for the procedure. However, though every attempt is made to stay on time, delays do occur. So as to minimize the amount of time that you have to wait in our office, on the day of the procedure do not come to our office until we call and tell you to do so. You needn't worry as we will give you plenty of time to get to Vanishing Veins.

After the Procedure
During your drive home position yourself in the back seat with your leg elevated. If you have a long ride home stop and walk outside for 5 minutes every 45 minutes.
Walking is very important after the procedure. We recommend several 10 to 15 minute walks each day.

Wear your compression stocking home and sleep in the compression hose the night of your procedure. After 24 hours remove the stocking and shower. Your may get the small white dressing wet after 24 hours.

Make sure to elevate your leg above the level of your heart for 5 minutes before applying the compression stocking. Wear the compression hose from morning until bedtime for the next two weeks. Wearing your compression stocking longer will help shrink the visible varicosities.

Prescription pain medication is usually not needed. You may use Tylenol for any discomfort. Resume all your usual medications and diet as before. Do not take any aspirin, Ibuprofen (Advil, Nuprin or Motrin) or other anti-inflammatory agents, vitamin E, fish oil, certain herbal supplements or other blood thinners for 7 days unless otherwise instructed.

Progress back to your normal activities over the next few days. You may return to work the following day if you feel up to it. You should not stand or sit in one place for longer than two hours. Walking is very good and will help the healing process. No hard aerobics, heavy lifting over 15 pounds (including weight training), bicycling or running for two weeks. If you wish to return to an exercise program, you may begin in moderation after the second week. No leg exercise machines for two weeks. Moderation with your exercise program will allow for an easy recovery. Resume driving when your leg feels strong enough.

Avoid air travel and hot tubs for two full weeks. Local anesthetic may leak from the leg for several hours after the procedure. It may be clear or pink. This is normal and will stop. The entry site may bleed. If this occurs elevate the leg and apply pressure to the site for 10 minutes. The bleeding will stop with these measures.

You may experience heaviness, pulling and/or stretching. This is a good sign and means that the vein is shrinking. This may last for weeks to months as the vein gets smaller.

Bruising is normal and will resolve in seven to ten days.

Occasionally, redness and tenderness occur over the vein. Do not be alarmed. This is a local inflammatory response to the vein closing and will respond to Ibuprofen and warm soaks. Let us know if this occurs. Listen to your body. If your leg is in pain or fatigued elevate it for 20 minutes and resume a less vigorous schedule.
Please call us if you have any concerns and we will advise you. The phone number is (860) 761-6666.

Ambulatory MicrophlebectomiesPrior to the Procedure
Please read instructions carefully two weeks before and the day before your procedure.

Do not take aspirin, Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin, etc.) or any type of blood thinners such as vitamin E, fish oil or certain herbal supplements for ten days before the procedure. If you have taken any of these, please call the office and let us know. We will get back to you after reviewing the matter with Dr. Greenwald.

Wear loose, comfortable, warm clothing including socks. Layering is most comfortable and allows for temperature fluctuation. Bring an old pair of boxers or very loose fitting shorts. They may get soiled from fluids used during the procedure. Men should bring an extra old pair of boxer shorts. Bring an extra pair of loose fitting pants to wear home.

Bring your compression stockings and pain medication with you to the office.
Do not fast prior to the procedure. Have a light meal at your regular time prior to your procedure (breakfast and/or lunch depending on the time of day your procedure is scheduled).

Please take all routine medications at their normally scheduled times. Please check with the office before taking any diuretic medication (water pills). You will need a ride home after the procedure. Expect to be in the office approximately three hours that day.

Prior to the procedure you will receive a phone call at which time we will ask for your phone numbers and the amount of time that it takes to reach our offices from your home. You will be given an approximate time slot for the procedure. However, though every attempt is made to stay on time, delays do occur. So as to minimize the amount of time that you have to wait in our office, on the day of the procedure do not come to our office until we call and tell you to do so. You needn't worry as we will give you plenty of time to get to Vanishing Veins.

After the Procedure
Keep your compression stocking or ace wrap in place for 48 hours. Remove the stocking or wrap the morning of the third day and shower. Apply the stocking and continue wearing your compression stocking every day until the bruising has resolved. Put them on first thing in the morning with your leg elevated. You do not need them to sleep. Take them off to shower.

You will become black and blue from the procedure. We recommend taking Arnica, an herbal medication, which can be purchased at our office. Bruising will fade over time but you will heal best if you take the Arnica tablets that we recommend. Pain medication may be taken if needed. You may use Tylenol instead of the prescribed pain medication if you have minimal discomfort. More significant discomfort should be treated with the prescription pain medication. Nausea is a frequent side effect of these medications. Please let us know if you have had this problem in the past.

Resume all your usual medications and diet as before. No heavy lifting (nothing over 15 pounds) or running for two weeks. If you wish to return to an exercise program you may begin in moderation after the first week. No leg exercise for two weeks. Moderation with your exercise program will allow for an easy recovery.

You may resume driving in 24 to 48 hours if you are not taking pain medication and your leg is strong enough to step on the pedal.
Listen to your body. If your leg is in pain or fatigued then elevate it for a while and resume a less vigorous schedule.

Prior to the Procedure
One week before your treatment stop aspirin, aspirin-containing drugs and other anti-inflammatory medications, vitamin E, fish oil and other supplements that thin the blood, including certain herbal supplements.

Do not shave or use lotion, cream or moisturizing soap on your legs on the day of the treatment. This will make it difficult for the dressings to stay on and to put on the compression hose.

Consider a shower in the morning before your injections. You will not be taking your stockings off for 2 - 3 days depending on the size of your veins.

Please bring your compression stockings and loose fitting shorts to the office on the day of your injections.

You will be putting your compression stockings on after the injections. The injections will not be able to be done if you do not bring the stockings with you on the day of your treatment. You have the option to purchase the stockings the day of your injections if you do not have them with you. Although we have a very large stock of compression hose, we may not always have your size.

After the Procedure
Keep the dressings and stockings on for 24 - 72 hours (day and night). Do not take them off to shower. Dr. Greenwald will advise you on the duration of time for wearing your compression hose.

After the designated time, take off the dressings and stockings. You may shower or bathe. Continue to wear your compression hose during the day for the next 7 - 14 days depending on the size and extent of the veins treated. At your injection session you will be advised of the duration of time that you will have to wear the hose.
DO NOT SUN TAN OR GO TO TANNING SALONS OR USE SELF-TANNING CREAMS FOR APPROXIMATELY SIX WEEKS AFTER YOUR TREATMENT. This can cause staining which may be permanent. This does not mean that you cannot be in the sun, but the area injected cannot be exposed to the sun.

If you are going to be in the sun, cover the injected area with clothing, a towel, a band-aid, etc. SUNSCREEN IS NOT ENOUGH.
Avoid strenuous leg exercises for a week. If your veins are very large you should not lift anything heavy (> 15 pounds) or run for the first 14 days. After that you may return to your normal activities. Do not use a hot tub for two weeks.

Oftentimes, your legs will look worse after the treatment. Please remember that hardness, lumps and discoloration are part of the process. You may use a non-steroidal agent such as Advil if there is some discomfort. Extreme discomfort at a particular site is not normal.

If you experience marked discomfort at any of the injection sites you should remove the stocking and dressing. The tape or the stocking may be the cause of the irritation and removing them may relieve the pain. If not, examine the site. Either way, please give us a call at (860) 761-6666 so that we may advise you properly.
Please be patient with your treatments. Varicose and spider veins form over many years. Treatment takes time. The duration of your treatment will depend on the degree and extent of your venous disease. You will continue to see improvement for months and up to a year after you complete your treatment.

Patient Forms
Below you will find the forms that are required by our office for all patients. You can fill them out if you prefer prior to your appointment. They are PDF files. Just click them and they will open in the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this program you can download it for free by clicking the following link: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

VARICOSE VEINS - Treatments for varicose veins are covered by certain insurance companies if they are deemed medically necessary. Insurance coverage is determined on an individual basis and each insurance company has authorization criteria that must be met. Authorization from your insurance company is NOT a guarantee of payment. It is our experience that if the medical necessity criteria are met there should be no difficulty with coverage and subsequent payment, though we cannot guarantee that this will be the case for any specific patient. We will inform you of the necessary authorization criteria specific to your insurance carrier. Each policy is different and any deductible or co-pay is determined by your individual coverage. If you do not wish to follow your insurance's medical necessity criteria, we will be happy to discuss private payment arrangements with you. You should be aware that just because your insurance company covers a certain procedure in general does not mean that they will necessarily cover the procedure for you.

To clarify and emphasize, there are two insurance components that you should be aware of:

1. A covered benefit is determined by the type of policy that you have.

2. A medically necessary treatment is determined by the medical management team of your insurance company.

Our office is very experienced in these matters and will advise you accordingly. Varicose veins that are not causing any symptoms and do not meet the criteria for medical necessity will not be covered. In that case you have the option to pay for the treatments yourself. We would be happy to discuss this option with you.
If your treatment is denied Dr. Greenwald will review the denial. If the denial is based on failure to meet the insurance company's criteria there is nothing that we can do. An appeal in this situation will not be successful. However, if we believe that the denial is not appropriate we will do what we can to get the denial reversed.

SPIDER VEINS - Spider veins are considered a cosmetic issue by all the insurance carriers and will not be covered by any insurance company.
Please feel free to contact your insurance carrier if you are not satisfied with their coverage.

Patient Financing
Procedures that are performed for cosmetic purposes are not covered by medical insurance. To assist our patients in financing these procedures we work with Capital One Healthcare Finance and SurgeryLoans.com. Please follow the links to their websites below for further information, easy online instant applications and useful tools such as handy payment calculators. With reliable financing programs from these trusted companies, the transformation of your appearance is financially within your reach.

Gift Cards & Referral Programs
The gift of beauty is appropriate for any occasion. Gift certificates are available and can be used to pay for co-pays and deductibles for services that are covered by insurance. They can also be used for any of our other services or to buy any of the skin care or cosmetic products sold at Vanishing Veins. Our business grows on the referral of satisfied clients. At Vanishing Veins, if you refer a new client to our practice you will be eligible for our rewards program.

For each new patient that you refer and who is seen at Vanishing Veins you will receive a credit to use towards our services and products. Additionally, the clients that you refer receive a similar credit. Stop by the desk and ask our staff to register you for our Rewards Program.